A Formal Model for Natural-Language Timed Requirements of Reactive Systems

To analyse the behaviour of reactive systems formally, it is necessary to build a model. At the very beginning of the development, typically only natural language requirements are documented. We present a formal model, named Data-Flow Reactive Systems (DFRS), which can be automatically obtained from natural language requirements that may also describe temporal properties. We prove that a DFRS can be mapped to a timed input-output transition system, which is widely used to characterise conformance relations for timed reactive systems. To validate the proposed model as well as the mechanisation developed to support its analysis, we consider two toy examples and two examples from the aerospace and automotive industry. Test cases are independently created and we verify that they are all compatible.

[1]  Ajitha Rajan,et al.  Requirements Coverage as an Adequacy Measure for Conformance Testing , 2008, ICFEM.

[2]  David Lorge Parnas,et al.  Software Requirements for the A-7E Aircraft. , 1992 .

[3]  Augusto Sampaio,et al.  Test case generation from natural language requirements based on SCR specifications , 2013, SAC '13.

[4]  Jonathan P. Bowen,et al.  ZUM '97: The Z Formal Specification Notation , 1997, Lecture Notes in Computer Science.

[5]  Jirí Srba,et al.  Comparing the Expressiveness of Timed Automata and Timed Extensions of Petri Nets , 2008, FORMATS.

[6]  Marco Roveri,et al.  Supporting Requirements Validation: The EuRailCheck Tool , 2009, 2009 IEEE/ACM International Conference on Automated Software Engineering.

[7]  Yves Le Traon,et al.  Producing a Global Requirement Model from Multiple Requirement Specifications , 2007, 11th IEEE International Enterprise Distributed Object Computing Conference (EDOC 2007).

[8]  Imran Sarwar Bajwa,et al.  On a chain of transformations for generating alloy from NL constraints , 2012, Seventh International Conference on Digital Information Management (ICDIM 2012).

[9]  Gustavo Carvalho,et al.  Model-Based Testing from Controlled Natural Language Requirements , 2013, FTSCS.

[10]  Mark Blackburn,et al.  Removing Requirement Defects and Automating Test , 2001 .

[11]  Peter Csaba Ölveczky,et al.  Formal Techniques for Safety-Critical Systems , 2013, Communications in Computer and Information Science.

[12]  Mark Saaltink.  The Z/EVES System , 1997, ZUM.

[13]  Nandamudi Lankalapalli Vijaykumar,et al.  Generating model-based test cases from natural language requirements for space application software , 2011, Software Quality Journal.

[14]  Mark Blackburn,et al.  Automatic generation of test vectors for SCR-style specifications , 1997, Proceedings of COMPASS '97: 12th Annual Conference on Computer Assurance.

[15]  Anne Marsden,et al.  International Organization for Standardization , 2014 .

[16]  Julien Schmaltz,et al.  On Conformance Testing for Timed Systems , 2008, FORMATS.

[17]  Supratik Mukhopadhyay,et al.  RETNA: from requirements to testing in a natural way , 2004, Proceedings. 12th IEEE International Requirements Engineering Conference, 2004..

[18]  Emmon W. Bach,et al.  Universals in Linguistic Theory , 1970 .

[19]  Augusto Sampaio,et al.  A CSP Timed Input-Output Relation and a Strategy for Mechanised Conformance Verification , 2013, ICFEM.

[20]  K. Larsen,et al.  Online Testing of Real-time Systems Using Uppaal , 2004, FATES.

[21]  Augusto Sampaio,et al.  NAT2TESTSCR: Test case generation from natural language requirements based on SCR specifications , 2014, Sci. Comput. Program..

[22]  Bin Gu,et al.  An Approach to Requirement Analysis for Periodic Control Systems , 2012, 2012 35th Annual IEEE Software Engineering Workshop.

[23]  Augusto Sampaio,et al.  NAT2TEST SCR , 2014 .

[24]  Charles J. Fillmore,et al.  THE CASE FOR CASE. , 1967 .